State czar touts incentives

Wednesday

Sep 11, 2013 at 2:00 AM

TOWN OF WALLKILL — State economic czar Ken Adams told the Orange County Chamber of Commerce two years ago that New York needed to be more business-friendly. On Tuesday, he told chamber members what's been done to make that happen.

James Walsh

TOWN OF WALLKILL — State economic czar Ken Adams told the Orange County Chamber of Commerce two years ago that New York needed to be more business-friendly. On Tuesday, he told chamber members what's been done to make that happen.

Adams, the president and CEO of Empire State Development, recounted steps the state has taken such as the imposition of the property tax cap and the creation of regional economic councils charged with boosting development and job creation.

The newest step by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, dubbed Start Up New York, aims to draw high-tech companies to college campuses and neighborhoods by promising a decade free of business/corporate taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, franchise fees and even personal income taxes.

State legislators in June approved the plan, which launches in January.

Adams told about 100 chamber members at West Hills Country Club that the state was willing to sacrifice tax revenue in return for quality jobs in every region. And while localities wouldn't collect property and mortgage taxes from the businesses, "the workers will need to buy housing, so they'll pay property taxes, and they'll shop and pay sales taxes."

The plan has been criticized for catering to new companies while not rewarding existing ones that have paid high taxes for years. There are also no guarantees that companies won't leave after exhausting their tax-free decade, although the Cuomo administration expects the investments businesses make will keep them here.

Adams said 229 businesses have accepted other tax incentive offers this year worth $220 million of taxpayer funds.

He said New York was one of only eight states to have regained the number of jobs lost to the recession, including 324,000 private-sector jobs.

"There is definitely a recovery of private-sector jobs taking place across the state," Adams said. "There is certainly an economic recovery going on in the state."

State Department of Labor figures show a sharp decline in unemployment rates in Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties over the past year. Job gains in the region and around the state, though, have been primarily in lower-paying sectors including leisure/hospitality, and part-time employment has replaced full-time work in some cases.

Economists have attributed lowered unemployment rates in New York and elsewhere to people dropping out of the job market. Some have retired after losing jobs, some have returned to school and others, frustrated by unfruitful job searches, have stopped looking.